The art of doing science

Finally, the post everybody has been begging for, in which I explain my research! (Did I say "everybody"? Because that might be a stretch...) Anyway, I study a virus that kills babies. In order to find ways to stop or prevent viruses from being destructive, we usually have to start with the basics and find out exactly how it's working so that we can identify potential targets for drugs and vaccines.

I do this by sprinkling virus on top of cells and seeing what happens. The problem is that viruses and cells are far too small to see with the naked eye, so we have to get creative (and use microscopes, of course). We use special dyes and fluorescent molecules to label certain parts of the cell:

In the picture above, the nucleus (where DNA hangs out) is stained blue. The green staining is my virus. See the circular structures? We think those are virus hideouts, where the virus can go about replicating and making new baby viruses without cellular virus-killing molecules bugging them.

Now... get this. All three of the pictures below are of the same cell. The green circles are the virus hideouts we just talked about. The red blobs are virus-destroying molecules made by cells in people. Now look at the overlay image (far right) where the pictures are merged. My virus is hanging out with a potential virus killer! Now... why would it be doing that?

We believe the virus is recruiting the virus killer to either disable it, or to manipulate it into playing for Team Virus, and we're trying to figure out how and why. I'll keep you posted because I know you'll be wating with bated breath.

I have an art-director friend who calls me "Science" and often begins conversations with phrases like, "Hey Science, tell me about (insert obscure physics principle / medical condition / deep-sea creature about which I know absolutely nothing)..." He teasingly implies that I know everything about the physical world, and nothing about art, beauty, or abstract. That is partly true, but to us (me and my nerdy friends), the process of unraveling the complexities of molecules working in the human body can be as beautiful as Starry Night.